scholarly journals A Continuous Palynological Record of Forest Clearing at Rano Kao (Easter Island, SE Pacific) During the Last Millennium: Preliminary Report

Quaternary ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irantzu Seco ◽  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Encarni Montoya ◽  
Núria Cañellas-Boltà ◽  
Santiago Giralt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
Single Event ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Palynological Analysis ◽  
Forest Clearing ◽  
Palynological Records

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) deforestation has traditionally been viewed as a single event, synchronous in time and space across the island and caused by Polynesian settlers. However, recent studies have challenged this idea, introducing the concept of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and suggesting a role for climate change. This paper presents a continuous paleovegetation record of the last millennium (~960 to ~1710 CE), based on palynological analysis of a core from Lake Kao. During this time interval, deforestation was gradual, with three main pulses at ~1070 CE, ~1410 CE, and ~1600 CE, likely driven by drought, anthropogenic practices (mostly fire), or the coupling of both. Some forest regeneration trends have been documented after the first and the second deforestation pulses. Forests were totally removed by 1600 CE, coinciding with the full permanent human settlement of the Kao area. Comparison with other continuous palynological records available for the last millennium (Aroi marsh and Lake Raraku) confirms that forest clearing was heterogeneous in time and space, rather than synchronous island-wide.

scholarly journals A Continuous Palynological Record of Forest Clearing at Rano Kao (Easter Island, SE Pacific) During the last Millennium: Preliminary Report

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irantzu Seco ◽  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Encarni Montoya ◽  
Núria Cañellas-Boltà ◽  
Santiago Giralt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Easter Island ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Palynological Analysis ◽  
Forest Clearing ◽  
Peat Core ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Palynological Records

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) deforestation has traditionally been viewed as a single event, synchronous in time and space across the island and caused by Polynesian settlers. However, recent studies have challenged this idea introducing the concept of spatio-temporal heterogeneity and suggesting a role for climate change. This paper presents a continuous paleovegetation record of the last millennium (~960 to ~1710 CE), based on palynological analysis of a peat core from Lake Kao. During this time interval, deforestation was gradual, with three main pulses at ~1070 CE, ~1410 CE and ~1600 CE, likely driven by drought, anthropogenic practices (mostly fire) or the coupling of both. Some forest regeneration trends have been documented after the first and the second deforestation pulses. Forests were totally removed by 1600 CE, coinciding with the full permanent human settlement of the Kao area. Comparison with other continuous palynological records available for the last millennium (Aroi marsh and Lake Raraku), confirms that forest clearing was heterogeneous in time and space, rather than synchronous island-wide.

First Records and Descriptions of Early Life Stages of Cephalopods from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and the Nearby Apolo Seamount

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A. Carrasco ◽  
Erika Meerhoff ◽  
Beatriz Yannicelly ◽  
Christian M. Ibáñez
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Rapa Nui

FIRST CHARACTERIZATION OF DRILLING PREDATION ON EASTER ISLAND - RAPA NUI

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta Martinelli ◽  
◽  
Sandra Gordillo ◽  
Sandra Gordillo ◽  
Maria Carla De Aranzamendi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Easter Island ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Drilling Predation

Daily accumulation rates of marine litter on the shores of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the South Pacific Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 112535
Author(s):  
Martin Thiel ◽  
Bárbara Barrera Lorca ◽  
Luis Bravo ◽  
Iván A. Hinojosa ◽  
Hugo Zeballos Meneses
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
The South ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Marine Litter ◽  
South Pacific Ocean

scholarly journals Thermal Imaging Shows Submarine Groundwater Discharge Plumes Associated with Ancient Settlements on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2531
Author(s):  
Robert J. DiNapoli ◽  
Carl P. Lipo ◽  
Timothy S. de Smet ◽  
Terry L. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Submarine Groundwater Discharge ◽  
Groundwater Discharge ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Hydrologic Processes ◽  
Submarine Groundwater ◽  
Aerial Systems

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important component of many coastal environments and hydrologic processes, providing sources of nutrients to marine ecosystems, and potentially, an important source of fresh water for human populations. Here, we use a combination of unpiloted aerial systems (UAS) thermal infrared (TIR) imaging and salinity measurements to characterize SGD on the remote East Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). Previous research has shown that coastal freshwater seeps are abundant on Rapa Nui and strongly associated with the locations of ancient settlement sites. We currently lack, however, information on the differential magnitude or quality of these sources of fresh water. Our UAS-based TIR results from four locations on Rapa Nui suggest that locations of variably-sized SGD plumes are associated with many ancient settlement sites on the island and that these water sources are resilient to drought events. These findings support previous work indicating that ancient Rapa Nui communities responded to the inherent and climate-induced hydrological challenges of the island by focusing on these abundant and resilient freshwater sources. Our results highlight the efficacy of using UAS-based TIR for detecting relatively small SGD locations and provide key insights on the potential uses of these water sources for past and current Rapa Nui communities.

Extreme sea levels at Rapa Nui (Easter Island) during intense atmospheric rivers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matías Carvajal ◽  
Patricio Winckler ◽  
René Garreaud ◽  
Felipe Igualt ◽  
Manuel Contreras-López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Easter Island ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Atmospheric Rivers ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Extreme Sea Levels

Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island, Chile: An Eco-Tourism Outline with Issues and Suggestions

Easter Island ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
J. T. Tanacredi ◽  
K. Buckley ◽  
T. Savage ◽  
B. Cliver
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Rapa Nui

scholarly journals Simulated climate variability in the region of Rapa Nui during the last millennium

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Junk ◽  
M. Claussen
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations

Abstract. Easter Island, an isolated island in the Southeast Pacific, was settled by the Polynesians probably between 600 and 1200 AD and discovered by the Europeans in 1722 AD. While the Polynesians presumably found a profuse palm woodland on Easter Island, the Europeans faced a landscape dominated by grassland. Scientists have examined potential anthropogenic, biological and climatic induced vegetation changes on Easter Island. Here, we analyze observational climate data for the last decades and climate model results for the period 800–1750 AD to explore potential causes for a climatic-induced vegetation change. A direct influence of the ENSO phenomenon on the climatic parameters of Easter Island could not be found in the model simulations. Furthermore, strong climatic trends from a warm Medieval Period to a Little Ice Age or rapid climatic fluctuations due to large volcanic eruptions were not verifiable for the Easter Island region, although they are detectable in the simulations for many regions world wide. Hence we tentatively conclude that large-scale climate changes in the oceanic region around Easter Island might be too small to explain strong vegetation changes on the island over the last millennium.

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